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This is too formal for us...: A case study of variation in the written products of a multinational consortium

Angouri, Jo; Harwood, Nigel

Authors

Jo Angouri

Nigel Harwood



Abstract

This article reports a case study of three multinational companies that work together in a consortium, focusing on intercompany and intracompany variation in writing products and processes. The authors discuss variation in two genres: meeting minutes and internal memos. Adopting a social constructionist, communities of practice (CofP) approach, they argue that the companies form overarching constellations of CofP. Although the participants broadly work with the same genres of written documents, the form of these documents varies according to the local context, audience, and purpose. The authors discuss the implications of their findings, with particular reference to the difficulty writers face when they make the transition from writing for one community of practice to writing for another. © 2008 Sage Publications.

Citation

Angouri, J., & Harwood, N. (2008). This is too formal for us...: A case study of variation in the written products of a multinational consortium. Journal of Business and Technical Communication, 22(1), 38-64. https://doi.org/10.1177/1050651907307701

Journal Article Type Article
Publication Date Jan 1, 2008
Journal Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Print ISSN 1050-6519
Electronic ISSN 1552-4574
Publisher SAGE Publications
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 22
Issue 1
Pages 38-64
DOI https://doi.org/10.1177/1050651907307701
Public URL https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/1015453
Publisher URL http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1050651907307701




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